Scouting Caches

Well, it's going pretty good so far. This is quite a neat scouting project participating in the 100th year Anniversary. I'm a little behind where I wanted to be at this point but it's going well. The cold and the snow has made it a bit tricky.

I had a log today saying how one of the caches wasn't winter friendly at all. Which I didn't put that attribute on it. But I didn't think it was that back. I made the mile round trip hike in the dark, and didn't think it was too bad, other than the trip back was mostly up hill.

So far I've made the hide's themselves pretty easy to find and nothing tricky. Some of them are quite a hike, but sound's by the log's people have enjoyed them.

I goofed the other night thought when I was out hiding a cache and I think my cord's are 40 to 50 feet off. Thankfully the hunter was able to find it. It's on my list to get fixed this week. I did kind of have a funny feeling when I was taking reading's on that one, as my batteries in my GPS where running low, and I had all my spare's at home charging. There's that scout motto "Be Prepared".

I've been able to get permission for all seven counties that the Hawkeye Area Council is involved with. Some require permit's, some don't. Jones county where I live I have to meet with the ranger before I can hide anything due to a cacher not taking care of his hides. Kind of sad how one person can ruin it for the batch, but by the sound's of it all, I think the caching relationship can be repaired.

Just figured I'd post an update. I do have some surprizes around the corner and some challenge caches as well.

Hope you guy's enjoy them,

Parabola/Tape worm

Yes for those that haven't figured it out my new handle on geocaching.com is Tape worm.

Also if you are able to please consider using the donate link for the scouting. The money will go to help pay for all the ammo can's I was able to get, SWAG to fill the can's, and gas to get out and place those hides.

Safe Caching!!!

Hawkeye Area Council 100th Anniversity

I ment to post this at the start of the year and forgot, but figured better late than never. This is about the Boy Scout's 100th Anniversary, and we are teaching them and their leader's about geocaching, and teaching cacher's a little about scouting. But the goal is to get out in the wood's and get some new cacher's out there. So here's my "old post":

Well, here’s my first official announcement of thing’s to come in 2010 as we help celebrate the Boy Scout’s 100th year anniversary.

We have some very exciting plan’s, and thing’s we will be doing threw the year so I want to make a spot for any one to view, get involved, want’s to see what’s going on with the geocaching side of thing’s.

So far we have released a Kick off/caching 101 event. We will be using multiple website’s like www.geocaching.com and www.waymarking.com and www.terracaching.com and www.navi-caching.com for the listing of caches, event’s, activities, and all sort’s of fun thing’s to do that will help support caching and teaching the scout’s more about it, and hopefully get some of them and their parent’s to get in and join the hobby.

First off we are working with the Hawkeye Area Council, and other council’s may have some caching program’s as well.

I’m already set up the Kickoff event, that will be at Kent Park in the CEC building on Jan. 9th, 2010. Which can be found on the geocaching website. I’ll get some link’s posted soon.

There is going to be 5 special “treasure’s of scouting” caches placed, where you can get a card from the cache and mail it in or drop it off at the scouting office to be entered in a monthly drawing for a very limited special geo-coin.

Also there will be 12 special “cache to eagle” caches that will have one of the scout law’s written in the lid’s of the container’s. Once you find all of them, you can e-mail me which law is written in each hide, and the first 20 cacher’s to do so will receive a special commemorative patch.

Also there will be a large number of new cache hides in the counties that the Hawkeye Area Council cover’s. These will be released at certain time’s threw the year. The other cache’s I hope to release on Jan. 1st 2010.

So come on and join in the fun as I’m sure I’ll have some side games that come along as we move forward.

If you have any question’s or comment’s, or idea’s, or wish to help out, please feel free to e-mail me and you are welcome to post comment’s on to this blog as well.

Thanks and safe caching everybody,

Tape worm

The H.A.C. Kick off and 101 Caching Event.

Just wanted to point out the kick-off event for the Hawkeye area council is listed and going to happen on Jan. 9th 2010. It will be from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Some temp's will be put out but are not loggable, and a new cache will be in place that is loggable, plus there's some really great hides already in Kent Park. If you haven't done them, you should put them on your to-do list.

If you can make it we would love you to come and join us. We will be doing a potluck lunch as well.

Here's a link to the listing on Geocaching.com

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=581622be-0a47-4fc3-8c7a-dfebf39125d5

Hope to see ya there!!!!

Parabola

Now that was scary

I had a very scary thing happen to me over the past two day's. My throat swelled up to the point of I could hardly breath. We still aren't 100% sure why, if it's an allergy to a medication or the change in weather. I've just never experienced anything like that before. I'll spare the detail's of it, but it really scared the crap out of me.

Not sure why I'm putting this in my blog. Other than that the therapy and trying to "relearn" how to sleep, is going ok. I wish it would move along much faster, and for a change in the past 4 year's my panic attack's seem to finally being suppressed. I'm still having a few but they are no where as bad as they where. The wife has noticed a big change in my attitude and said she thinks I'm in a much better mood, and no where near as snipy as I had become.

But finally starting to get 5 to 6 hours of sleep at one shot. Which so far I can live on that. It sure beat's the 1 to 2 hour's or being awake for day's on end, till I would just crash for two day's. I can sure tell I've been off work for a long time. I was in a couple of day's this week, and no matter how much I walked the dog, or went for a walk, it doesn't compare to climbing up and down ladder's all day long.

I'm so looking forward to getting back into the swing of thing's, which is slowly happening or at least headed in the right direction.

I've been very lucky to have such a supportive family, and co-worker's. I want to say thank you to all of them for dealing with me threw all the high's and low's of this whole thing. I'm really worried about my son, and what affect's it's had on him. Just now that I'm starting to do better I think it's time for some good quality father and son time.

I would suggest anyone that has panic attack's and or annexity/depression problem's, get seen, they can help, even though I was too the point I didn't think they could but it was a matter of getting a few doctor's involved. But there is hope out there. And if you need to talk to someone about them, don't be afraid to drop me a line. I don't know if I will be able to help much, but just having someone to listen has been a big help. I know this stuff is hard to talk to other's about since it does get very personal, but it does help, and their is some very understanding people out there.

Sleeping update

I've had a ton of e-mail's regarding my sleeping disorder's. Which thank you everybody!!! So I figured I'd post an update regarding it.

I've got a total of four doctor's that i'm working with. That sure does get confusing with the insurance company when thye want to know something, trying to refer them to the right doctor is kind of hard. They did figured out I have a mix of two sleeping disorder's, but not the one's they had though I had. So the original plan was completely throw out the window, which would have been a much easier and faster "fix". But that's mixed in with a annexity/depression problem, and all of them are feeding off each other.

I had put this stuff off for four year's due to being busy, didn't have time to make it in to the doctor, which made it progress to the level it got too. I had just been dealing with it and was trying to kept moving on with daily thing's.

The last doctor I finally met with for the first time last wednesday. Which was kind of interesting to say the least. She just shook her head at alot of the medication's they had tried, and the fact that one of them I've been on for over two year's, but it's been the one thing I could count on to supress a Panic attack. But she's said, if I was to go off of it at the moment, I would even up in the hospitial witht he possible of some very bad thing's happening. But we have to make a plan on how to get off of it, but she said not until we find something that can keep panic attacks from happening. But as of right now I am physically dependent on it. So yet another thing tossed in the mix to deal with.

I am getting to go back to work next week, and have been working hard on reseting me internal clock to a 24 hour clock, and not from about the 64 hour clock that had happened because it was delt with sooner. The past month, has been hard do to I had to set a wake up time. No matter what, if I haven't slept I have to get up at that time, and it's everyday, and no sleeping in on the weekend's. I had figured out my day's and night's are reversed, so get those back to normal hasn't been fun and still isn't right yet, But getting back to work and getting back on a normal "life" schedule will help, but the first couple of week's will be ruff. And scaling back on all sleeping medication's. They work for a certain amount of time, but are not ment to be a perminate thing. ANd after so long your body will fight those as it will see them as toxic and will rasie your white blood count like you have an infection your body is trying to fight off.

I've been trying to take walk's, ride my bike, go for a hike out in one of the park's as exercise to try and help make me physicaly tired, but also have been told, exercise in the evening nearing bed time isn't a good thing, due to it can cause adrenaline to start, and keeping you awake, so there's a fine line not to cross in the later evening's. Defining that line, well I haven't figured it out yet.

Another thing is I was/am a clock watcher, meaning at night when i couldn't sleep I would keep looking at the time on the alarm clock. This only makes you frustrated, and get's you start thinking, ok I can't sleep, I'm going to be so tired tomorrow, and making your brain "thinking" alot more than when you should be relaxed.

So far I haven't been able to get a solid sleeping schedual, but it seem's the quality of sleep I do get has improved. Which working on a getting back to a normal schedule will help and speed this up.

As far as a set bedtime, is good, but as I was told if in the evening if I've very tired, go ahead and go to sleep, just as long as it's not a nap in the middle of the day. As your body is trying to make up for that lack of sleep.

I think the worst was going 4 day's and night without sleep or just a few hour's, and then by the time the weekend rolled around, I would crash for two day's and there was no getting me up. Sadly I've missed a ton of family activies, alot of my son's sport's stuff.

But there's kind of an update, and I guess the best thing is now we know what's going on, and have a plan we have been working on for the past month in treating it, but it wasn't until I could get into all the doctor's to get everything I needed. Which that was the bad part, every big test, and every new doctor I wouldn't know about till I met with one doctor, and then trying to make an appointment, we found I couldn't get in for a month or six week's. So it just drug out the time-line this has been going on.

Have a happy holiday's everyone!!!

A ammo can or two.

Well, I've been trying to work a deal with some folk's about a large order of ammo can's to use for the Geoscouting project for the upcoming year. I finally got the right guy, and was shocked at the deal he gave me.

We worked out that if any IGO member want's to buy a pallet full or bulk quantity's of ammo can's 30 cal's or 50 cal's, he will sell them at whole sale. Already they give geocacher's a 5% discount which has been very nice of them to do, but with the rocking price of the ammo can due to the future of them is unknown at this point, they have almost doubled in price over the past year. The military has been crushing the can's, instead of putting them up for auction. Any way's I told them I would definitely give them a plug. CC military surplus in Central city. This is almost a 50% discount off of the retail price of buying them one at a time. And is just a quarter lower than what they cost a year ago.

I was so happy when he said he would do this for any of us, so if a bunch of us want to get together and buy in bulk, and split the cost and the can's we can do that.


I have to thank my little sister for helping me get them all off the pallet, counted, take the lid's and put those on. And for trying to help me repair a couple that got dented due to the metal band's holding them to the pallet. And for them putting them back in the truck to move from my parent's to my house.







Another big thank you to my little guy for helping me unload them all out of the truck and get them stacked up in the garage while we are waiting on paint to start painting them.



I'm almost ready to release a major announcement for me to the public. It's been a hard decision, but I think it's a good one. Just there will be no more log's under the handle of Parabola on geocaching.com. I guess I'll just spill the bean's. I've retired my handle. Parabola had a good run, but is now done. Done caching, no way. But a fresh start I guess. My new handle, well it's out there with a few find's already. Then final cache I had to put on terra-caching.com due to how I wanted to finish I couldn't meet the guideline's. There's a write up with a cache called Parabola to finish him up, with a very unique kind of cache and I think another first of it's kind. I've even got the 2nd in command there involved. I guess call it completing the circle. To swipe a friend of mine's cache hide name. That the cause of the recent design of my pathtag's. The piece's all fit if you really look and study them.

I hope I've made some memorable caches for you to think back and say to yourself, what was I thinking going after that cache. What's left will still be maintained by me, and I don't know if I want to adopt them over or not, but they still will be watched over, till the time comes to put them to rest.

Not to fear, though, there's more coming, and I think the picture's in this post will show that.

See ya on the trail's,

Parabola

Geoscouting

It's out and officially announced now. The Cache to Eagle program, the pillar's of scouting, the Pinewoodderby TB race. Eache councial will be putting together a different program. This is set up as a partnership between Geocaching.com and the Boy Scout's. Since we have similar values, and all enjoy the outdoor's the two do kind of go hand in hand.

So far we have a general plan for the Hawkeye Area Council and set up a pretty bang up program for 2010. This venture is to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of scouting.

As an Eagle scout myself, I learn a lot that I sit use today while out in the wood's looking for geocaches. But be ready Jan. 1st for the program to began, and other thing's may be added on as we go threw the year. I'm sure hoping the program we set up for the Hawkeye Area Council will blow other council's away.

You can contact me if you wish to help in this venture at all. We will be teaching GPS skill's as well as the ability to use a compass properly and some orienteering. All why we are doing one of the actives we love most, geocaching.

I'm also setting up a donation link to my paypal account. As I've been getting thing's for this, it's getting kind of expensive for just one person to handle and your donation would be put to use in the form of container's, logbook's, Swag, paint for the container's. Just make sure you use the donation link for this and not the one to help me finish this tattoo. Unless you want to donate to that as well. :)

Be safe out there and if you have time check out the Geoscouting website for more information.